The Gem of the Mojave
by FrankTheTank
Summary: An outcast and a messenger. Both saviors in the eyes of many, with new threats coming their way. New allies joining them on their adventures. Where ever they are, whatever the cost, they'll do what's right for better or worse. Protecting the Wasteland, and the prizes within it. No matter what.
1. New Beginnings

The Courier had helped Mr. House, the mysterious overlord of New Vegas, take over the Hoover Dam and create peace in the Mojave with the help of the Securitrons. They drove out the NCR and the Legion from the Colorado and kept control in smaller towns like Novac and Goodsprings. Life in the Mojave became easier, and word about House's new rule over the Mojave had been spread across the Wasteland like radiation fires. Many travelers tried to settle in the region, but were kicked out. Like Mr. House said after General Oliver's surrender, Vegas was a shining jewel in the desert. In the wasteland however, jewels were meant to be stolen.

"Charon, pack your things," ordered the Lone Wanderer, "We're going on vacation."

"Let me guess, Vegas huh?"

"How'd you know?"

"How could anyone NOT know about Vegas?"

The Wanderer looked at him with a displeasing look on his face, "If you're done being a smartass, I can actually explain why were going." A few minutes of silence followed.

"Explain away, master," Charon grumbled something else under his breath.

"The Brotherhood has been distributing purified water across the wasteland for four years now," the Wanderer informed him, "but it's still hard for the BoS to reach the west side of the country, especially when the New California Republic hates 'em. So Elder Lyons and many others, including myself, have agreed that we should send someone strong to reach a vital city or town in the west where we can keep up trade and distribute water."

Charon interrupts him, "Let me guess, you volunteered yourself didn't you?"

"Bingo. Of course, if you wish to stay here I can always bring Fawkes or Dogmeat along…"

"No! Don't do that! I want to go! I could use a change in scenery."

"Then it's settled. We're going to meet Roy Philips by Tenpenny Tower for some directions, and then head west."

"You think there's any Enclave in Vegas?"

"According to the Brotherhood, the Enclave hasn't been in the Mojave for decades," says the Wanderer as he loads his .44 Magnum, "and if there are any, they can say hello this bad boy!"

So the Wanderer and Charon packed their things and traveled to Tenpenny Tower later that night to get directions from Roy Philips. "You sure you want to go through with this smoothskin?" Roy didn't like the idea of the Wanderer, or anyone for that matter, traveling west. It was going to be a long and painful journey for sure.

"Someone needs to do it. Besides, I've killed more Super Mutants than Mr. House has won caps," the Lone Wanderer seemed so cocky and too full of himself that Charon just HAD to say something. "Maybe that's because House is smart enough not to gamble."

"Charon, you're fir-"

"Ok, ok! Sorry…" the Wanderer let out a cheerful laugh as he said good-bye to Roy, and hit the trail.

In the Lucky 38, the Courier was relaxing in the Presidential Suite. He was kicking back, drinking Sunset Sarsaparilla, and listening to Radio New Vegas. That had been all he did for the past 2 weeks. After driving out foreign invaders, the Courier hadn't done much but gamble in Vegas, check on a few towns once in a while, and relax. Of course, if Mr. House required his services, the Courier would have no choice but to help him. Mr. House's assignments weren't live or death fights with other people though, like before the second battle of the Hoover Dam. The Courier didn't mind it much, but he became quite soft in battle. What was there to fight in a world filled with robots that did everything you commanded? Or rather, what House commanded…

"Howdy, there partner!" yelled Victor, scaring the Courier.

"Damn it Victor, what is it?" the Courier wasn't usually this upset with Victor, but he had ruined the peace and quiet that the Courier created in his room.

"Boss wants to see you upstairs, said it was more urgent than anything in a long while." After that statement Victor rolled away, doing whatever it was that he did in his spare time. The Courier needed to clean himself up, and by what Victor said, felt the need to put on some combat armor as well. After getting geared up, the Courier headed for the elevator. After pushing the button, he heard a voice behind him.

"Going somewhere?" asked Boone, in the same serious tone that he always spoke with.

"Penthouse." the Courier replied without even looking back. "I have a feeling that we might actually have to get into action this time though, so load your guns. I'll come find you and ED-E when I'm ready."

"Yeah, alright," Boone walked into his room where you could hear him loading his Scoped Hunting Rifle just as the Courier walked into the elevator. It wasn't often you'd find a building in the waste as tall as the Lucky 38, or one as secure for that matter. Why did House call for him? The Legion or NCR weren't back to fight for the Dam, not this soon after their defeat. So what could it have been? A couple Powder Gangers? The Courier wasn't worried about it. That is, until he reached the penthouse. When the elevator opened, he saw someone standing there that he thought he would never see in a long time.

END OF CHAPTER 1

**This is my first FanFic and I know this chapter is a little short. I would like to work on this more than I already do, but I have a very busy schedule. So please, wait patiently for the next chapter! I would really appreciate reviews and stuff, because I like to see what others think of my stories and what I could improve on. Besides that, I don't have much else to say so bye!**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 2: Taking the Keys**


	2. Taking the Keys

After several hours of traveling throughout the empty hills and destroyed ruins of the Wasteland, the Lone Wanderer had to take a break. His own water supply was getting low faster than he expected not to mention the fact that he had to share it with Charon as well. "I'm tired…we need to set up camp," The Lone Wanderer had brought along some camping supplies like irradiated wood and Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. Once the campfire was set and Charon whipped out some sleeping bags, he realized something.

"Hey master! We don't have any matches! How are we supposed to keep warm?"

The Lone Wanderer must've left them on his bed in Megaton near Wadsworth. "Damn it…WAIT! I have an idea!" After saying this, the Lone Wanderer pulled out his flamer and lit the wood. This worked quite well for about an hour or so, but then the wood almost instantly turned to ashes.

"Shit…" Charon was shocked to see this happen. They had already eaten the cakes, but this didn't satisfy their hunger. While thinking of how to get food, since there were no creatures in sight, he started to gaze upon the horizon for any sign of a town or building. "I don't see anything out there, so it looks like we're in for a cold hungry night."

"I packed a couple of Nuka-Colas, if you want one." The Wanderer held up a bottle to Charon's face with an eyebrow raised. Thirsty, he grabbed it, took off the cap, and drank it all in one swig.

"I'm even hungrier now!" Charon growled and went to bed shortly after. However, he just couldn't sleep. The Wanderer was still up, and that worried Charon. What's he thinking about? Is he looking at something?

"Charon, get up. I see something in the distance, something big."

After Benny escaped the Tops and ran off to Fortification Hill, the Courier discovered a Securitron named Yes Man. The Courier learned all about Benny's plan to take over New Vegas and vowed to put a stop to it. After infiltrating the Fort with Boone, the Courier killed Caesar and all his men in the Fort at the time. However, there was one man in a checkered suit that was captured.

That one man was freed, and told to run off into the sunset.

The Great Khans were right, Benny was a snake. Because standing before the Courier at that moment was no one but Benny, and on the screen, Yes Man.

"Hey there baby, been awhile huh?" Benny let out a small laugh that shivered the Courier's spine.

"Where's House," the Courier had a feeling he already knew the answer. He was dead, chunks everywhere in the basement of the Lucky 38. Feeling uneasy, the Courier reached for his 10mm Submachine Gun. Once he pulled it out, he was whacked in the back of the head by a baseball bat. The courier fell to the ground, weak. He let out little grunts of pain as he reached for his gun, but it was no use. The Chairman who whacked him in the head stepped forward, took the Courier's gun, and walked towards Benny.

"Get up. I want to see the look in your eyes when I finish what I started, you dig?" The Courier got up, breathing heavily. His vision and hearing were fuzzy, but he could make out what Benny was saying.

"I-I gave you a second chance, Benny."

"You sure did, and you must've really had a thick skull to do that. You didn't ACTUALLY think I would leave, did you? Hell no, sweetheart. I'm taking Vegas, then, the Mojave. This time, you can't stop me. Thanks for winning the war by the way. It makes this so much easier." Benny pulled out Maria, his beautiful custom 9mm handgun. "Party's over, and this time, I'll be sure not to mi-" Benny was interrupted by a Securitron rolling in his direction at an alarming rate. The only one still loyal to House.

Victor.

Benny was instantly slammed against the wall, being choked by Victor's claw. The other was smashing the Lucky 38's computer interface.

"Run! I can only hold 'em for so long! It was nice knowing you, friend!"

After hearing this, the Courier ran to his room and yelled for Boone and ED-E to get the hell out of there. Then all three of them quickly escaped the building where the Vegas Securitrons were doing their best to stop the fleeing heroes. They escaped with minor casualties among them, and decided to stop running once they got to the Gun Runner's factory.

"What the hell just happened?" Boone asked in an exhausted voice.

"Benny happened. That little snake killed House somehow and took control of the Securitrons." The Courier knew something like this might have happened, and he prepared likewise. Instead of keeping all of his weapons and armor in the Lucky 38, he had them scattered for good measure. Even after gathering his weapons and armor though, he would still have to fight all of the Securitrons.

"Boone, we have to gather an army of our own. So let's try to contact some of our old friends and get to work."

The Lone Wanderer was bringing out his Chinese Assault Rifle after realizing what the hell was on the horizon. It was a Behemoth. "Charon, Behemoth, 6 O'clock!" As Charon turned around he pulled out his Combat Shotgun and started to fire away at the beast. In the Capitol Wasteland, there was a total of 6 Behemoths. The Lone Wanderer had killed every single one of them, but this time he didn't have a Fatman. The bullets were practically being absorbed into its flesh like water to a sponge. It was hard to see in the dark, with the only light being their guns blazing.

"Come on, you giant hunk of radiation, let's see what you got!" Charon was aiming for its head, trying to nail it hard enough to stun him or knock of his head entirely. The Behemoth ran up close to strike him with his fire hydrant when the Lone Wanderer poured 5.56mm ammo into the back of his skull. This did almost nothing to the Behemoth, but it did get him to turn around away from Charon. Then once again the Behemoth got ready to strike. While reloading his weapon, the Wanderer was smacked backwards into a rock. He felt intense pain in his chest, knowing that his ribs were broken and heard lots of cracking in his back. He started to cough up blood, unable to get up just as the super mutant was ready to strike him again.

Charon yelled "No!" as he threw a frag onto its back. After exploding, it came after Charon at full-speed. He knew that the Lone Wanderer couldn't fight anymore, and that the Behemoth was weak as well. He was running around desperately, while looking for something he could use to finish it off. That's when he saw the reflection of a Mini Nuke as he was firing shots behind him. He quickly grabbed the Mini Nuke, and turned around. The super mutant jumped into the air ready to crush Charon like a mole rat.

"**AAAAAAARGH!**" Its mouth was open, perfect for Charon's plan. Just as it pounced, Charon dove to the side dodging its weapon and stuck the Mini Nuke into its mouth. The Behemoth stopped for a minute trying to figure out what had just happened as Charon ran next to the Lone Wanderer and shot the Mini Nuke. In the moments following that event, there was a huge explosion followed by a chunky rain of limbs.

"You ok? I got some Stimpaks for you to use."

"I'm fine, just some broken ribs, and nice plan by the way. I forgot I had that Mini Nuke, since I didn't bring the Fatman along."

"We'll have to rest here for awhile just incase it's more than a few ribs. I don't think we have to worry about food anymore though, since that lightshow probably attracted every critter in the next mile or so."

"Every raider too. Don't worry about that right now though, we need to sleep." So the Lone Wanderer and Charon went to sleep, not worrying about anything that was going to happen in the morning. They had only been traveling for about a day and had already encountered one of the deadliest things in the Wasteland. Little did they know at the time, that a Behemoth would be a radroach compared to things to come.

END OF CHAPTER 2

**Not a bad chapter, right? It took me only a couple of days to write this one. I hope you enjoyed it. Even if you didn't, leave me a review! I really would like the criticism and thoughts to make this a better story. **

**COMING SOON:**

Chapter 3: Alliances and Betreyal


	3. Alliances and Betrayal I

"There's no way we can fight with you. We're just a town, not an army. Fighting those few Powder Gangers left us with enough casualties as it is. How do you expect us to fight over a thousand Securitrons? They KILLED House. That's a sign of bad things to come."

"Trudy, I'm not expecting Goodsprings to be on the front line in this. We need supplies and a place to hide troops though. I beat the Legion at Hoover Dam; you know you can trust me."

"You FINISHED the Legion. The NCR did most of the work, and suffered most of the deaths. I knew those Securitrons were evil since I moved here!

"Trudy, I know you hated Victor, but without him I wouldn't be he-"

"Enough! Get out of my saloon if that's all you'll talk about! I'm not going to war and neither is this town!" The Courier had been trying to gather the people of Goodsprings for two days now, with no success. Doc Mitchell, Trudy, Easy Pete, and even Sunny Smiles turned him down.

"Should we try Novac? Our chances of getting some of them are even less likely," said Boone with a frown.

"Benny has probably thought ahead and planted Securitrons there already. It still amazes me that he killed House. How? How did he even get back in undetected? Why didn't Victor change into a "Yes-Man" Securitron? All these questions…" the Courier looked so puzzled and was so lost in thought that he forgot to finish his sentence.

"…and none of the answers," whispered a voice behind him. It was Sunny Smiles.

"So, you decided to join us? Well, that would've been nice earlier. Where's Cheyenne?"

"I let her go kill a couple geckos for a while. Listen, I'm sorry that I said no earlier, it's just that I don't want to start another war. The last one ruined a lot of people's lives and homes. This one might be worse."

"It won't, I can assure you. Benny thinks he has the upper hand with Vegas and the Securitrons, but one of the only reasons why Vegas won the Dam is because of House. He thought up the plan, he maneuvered the robots, he won the war. Without his strategies and intellect, Benny will be months behind us. We just need to convince these guys."

"Have you tried allying with the Great Khans or the Boomers?"

"Not yet. I want to go with people I trust, first. If Benny was smart he would try to do the same thing. The Khans hate him though, and no amount of smooth talking in the WORLD can fix that."

"I'm with you now, and so is Doc Mitchell. Secretly."

The Courier sat puzzled for a second. _I need someone to keep an eye on Benny, and Vegas for me. But who? _The Courier thought of an idea.

"Sunny, I can't go to Vegas. Neither can you. I know someone who can help us though who lives in Freeside. Go there for me, and ask for 'The King'".

"Why?"

"Just trust me; he'll want to help us win this. He owes me one."

The Lone Wanderer woke up in a dark room the next morning after his fight with the Behemoth. He seemed to be tied up with rope around his ankles and wrists. "Charon?" he whispered in a hushed voice. "Where are you?"

He heard a dark laugh as a response. "You're friend isn't here."

The Wanderer got worried fast saying, "where is he?"

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Because I'll kill you if you don't." Another dark laugh responded as he heard some movement all around him. After about 5 minutes the dark room was lit up so bright that the Wanderer had to take a minute to adjust. He looked all around him to find machines, ammo boxes, and most importantly, a man standing in front of him with a gun. The man was of African descent with a short haircut, a scar on his check, and some leather armor.

"You kill ME? Now that's just precious. You're either stupid or stupid with a side of bravery. Stupid anyhow, though. Do you know where you are?" asked the man.

"No, I don't."

"Well that's good. People aren't supposed to know and live."

"Tell me where he is."

"I'll say it again kid; why would I tell you that?"

"…" the Lone Wanderer knew he couldn't reason with this guy, so he just spit on his shoes instead.

"Ugh! You sack of ****! Do you know who you're messing with here?"

_Now we're getting somewhere, _the Wanderer thought.

"No, and why should I? Are you some important Brahmin rancher or something?"

"I'm Jerry Dawkins, 3rd in command of the United Detroit Forces!"

_Detroit, huh? That's in Michigan. At least I know how far away I am from D.C._

"Never heard of you."

"I'm going to put a bullet between your eyes in a second if you don't shut up."

The Wanderer knew that they needed him alive for something, whether it was information or just to be a slave. "Oh yeah? Go ahead; let's see if you really can put a bullet in me!"

"…fair enough kid. You're smarter than you look. I can't kill you yet. I CAN however put some more cuts in you until you beg for mercy, and then cut some more."

"What's the matter, worried you're master will get the spray bottle?" the Lone Wanderer knew he was testing Jerry's patience, but he wasn't afraid. After fighting the Enclave, slavers, raiders, and even unworldly beings, hardly anything frightened him.

"Ok kid, if that's the way you want it, then that's what I'll do." Jerry pulled out a switchblade and slowly circled around the Wanderer like a ferocious cat. Just as Jerry was going the cut a slit in the Wanderer's wrist, one of the machines began to beep. Jerry put the switchblade away, and grumbled something as he walked over to it. He seemed to be writing some sort of message as he pressed buttons and typed words. Shortly after he was done, he walked over to the Wanderer and began to speak.

"Change of plans. The boss wants to see you immediately. Follow me. Any funny business, I'll kill you myself." As Jerry said this, he cut the ropes around the Wanderer's ankles and pulled him off the ground. The Wanderer began to walk down a dark hall that was dimly lit, following his captor. After a while, he realized something about his surroundings. Something familiar he just couldn't put his finger on. They took a sharp left, and then two rights down the hall, ending at a door covered with dried blood.

"Here we are. Once I open this door you'll be seated across from the boss. Don't try anything in there though, because there are auto turrets ready to fire if he gives the word." Jerry opens the door, and pushes the Wanderer into the room.

"Welcome, have a seat. My name is Sal. I run this place you are sitting in right now. Any questions before we move on to business?"

"Three questions."

"Ask away."

"First off, where's my ghoul friend Charon."

"Ah, that fellow. Yes, I know where he is. He's probably in the giant pile of ashes from the incinerator by now. If not, he is waiting to be incinerated. We kill all ghouls on the premises. Not to worry though, if he is alive I will bring him back to you. That is, if you help me. Moving on to the next question?"

"Why am I here?"

"Trespassing, obviously. My scouts wouldn't have found you if you didn't shoot off a mini nuke last night. It was a dead giveaway. Now, for the third question?"

"Which Vault are we in?"

"Good eye. This is Vault 63, Detroit's vault. I heard your conversation with Jerry over the intercom and know that you're smarter than the run of the mill raider. So now, you answer some question for me. Why were you traveling this way?"

"I was going to Vegas."

"Humph. I expected a better explanation than that."

"I assume you've heard of the Brotherhood of Steel, correct?"

"Correct."

"I'm going on official business. I'm not going to lose my life savings or settle down there."

"Now see, that wasn't so hard. What was with the light show last night?"

"Behemoth."

"That's funny, because we didn't see any Fat Man when we took your things."

"I was packing light."

"Alright. I'll accept that answer. I'll move onto business now. I've spared your life, and possibly your friend's life, so you owe me."

"How much?"

"Not bottle caps. If I wanted those from you, I would've just killed you. I need someone to fetch something for me. I need a part for a Pre-War car. Being the 'Motor City' and all, I expected Detroit to have at least one car untouched by the bombs. I was right. I'll be the envy of the region, hell even the whole Wasteland with a car. There's one problem with it though. It's missing major parts internally. I require an engine, some electronics, and some lights to fit the dashboard. Get those for me, and your friend will be spared."

"Fine. I want him here with you until I get back. Where's my stuff?"

"They're in that cabinet over there. By the way, I'll have my men on you at all times, so don't try to run."

With that statement, the Lone Wanderer left the Vault and began to search the city for parts. Was Charon alright? Could the Wanderer trust this "Sal"? The Wanderer didn't think so. But he knew that Charon would do everything in his power to stay alive. He had no other choice. The Wanderer entered the General Motors building that was boarded up in the front and was greeted with some unfriendly faces. What a typical morning.

END OF CHAPTER 3

**Another day, another chapter. I'm sorry if some of you found this one a little short or boring. What I had originally planned was a LOT longer and a lot more epic. But it would've taken 5x as long to write though, so I've decided to split it into parts! Stick around for the next one to see a crazy battle and a farewell to friends!**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 4: Alliances and Betrayal II**


	4. Alliances and Betrayal II

IN THE CITADEL:

"Have we heard any reports from him yet?"

"No sir. We lost his signal. He's way past the outskirts of our scanners."

"…It seems like we have no other option then. Call in for his super mutant friend, right away!"

In Freeside the following morning, Sunny Smiles was sent by the Courier to ask the King for his help in the upcoming battle. The King owed the Courier one favor, because the Courier helped settle the disputes in Freeside with the NCR. The Courier never used his favor because he wanted to save it for a better time. Now was that time.

"So, he wants me to send a guy into Vegas to spy on Benny huh?"

"Not exactly, mister. He wants the Kings to be apart of his army against Benny. If you can let us use Freeside as a base, we can hit this guy hard without him knowing."

"With what army exactly? You don't expect the Kings and a few others to overthrow Vegas do you?"

"We're trying to get the help of some of the towns, and then we plan on asking clans like the Boomers and the Great Khans"

"Well I do owe the kid a favor, so I suppose so. Tell him as soon as you can."

"Thanks, sir!"

"No problem, Sunny. I'll send one of my guys into Vegas and have him keep an eye on this Benny fellow."

After her conversation with the King, Sunny Smiles started walking the journey back to Goodsprings, to deliver the good news. On the Courier's end, he was on his way to the Nellis Air Force Base to try and convince the Boomers for their help. More importantly though, their guns. He had worked with the Boomers before, helping them resurface an old plane and repair some solar panels. For that they welcomed him as a friend, even though everyone outside Nellis was considered a savage. Once he reached the gate, he demanded to speak with Pearl, their leader. They let him in and he went to her quarters waiting for an opportune time to ask.

"I need some help."

"Depends on what it is. We're very busy fixing up the plane and the hangar it's resting in, so make it quick."

"I need your help in battle again. It's not going to be as big as the war over Hoover Dam, but it's as important for sure. Mr. House is dead and a man named Benny has taken over the strip. Allow me to explain further…" so the Courier did explain everything that had happened in the past two days involving Benny, Yes Man, and the plan that the courier had formulated.

"Hmmm… I see. This is very interesting to say the least. But what do you want us to do, blow up Vegas? That wouldn't be wise."

"I have a great plan, you don't have to worry. All I need is help."

"We'll help you outsider, only because of your past kindness and skill."

"Thank you, ma'am. I'll be sure to let my men know. Do you have any extra explosives we could use? Those Securitrons have some tough armor."

"Sure, sure…"

Another skull blasted to pieces, and another body to loot. The Wanderer felt like he was doing the same damn task everyday. At least this time there was some variety. New places, new guns, and new things to scavenge. The guns were weak compared to his though, so he just left them on the ground. He had found the lights in a storage room, the electronics off of some old Protectrons, but was still searching for an engine. How would the Wanderer go about carrying an engine, anyhow? He was sure Sal would think of some way once he located it. Where in this building could he find one? A museum, maybe? It was worth a shot. So the Wanderer began to look for Pre-War signs for some kind of museum, we he heard something behind him.

"Hey there, prisoner."

"One of Sal's scouts I assume?"

"Right you are."

"Why are you here now? It's obvious I haven't found an engine yet."

"Your friend ran off. So we've just decided to kill you." Out of the corner of his eye, the Wanderer noticed armed guards peeking around the walls of the hallway he was in.

"Shoot…"

"Don't try and fight back, and we'll make this an easy, painless death."

"Bite me, asshole!" The Wanderer quickly aimed his Chinese Assault Rifle at the man's face, and splattered it all over the wall as he absorbed some lead from the others. The Wanderer fell to the ground in pain, realizing that he wasn't fully recovered from his injuries the night before. He lay there, on the ground, flat on his face. He decided to keep his groans to himself so the guards though he died.

"This guy went down faster than I thought."

"He put up a fight though, that's for damn sure. Look at Allen over there, and there, and over there on the wall." The guard let out a sick laugh as he picked up the rifle off the ground.

"Mine now, D.C. punk."

"Grab the parts off him, and then let's go find that museum he was looking for."

"So we get all the credit? Nice idea…" the second guard reached down to take the parts when he saw something shiny sticking out of the Wanderer's pocket. This looks like one of those toy guns you'd see on those Captain Cosmos posters. Pew! Pew! Ha!" cried the second guard as he played with the gun, imitating the boy on the poster.

The Lone Wanderer had no clue what was stolen for a second until he realized what he had said.

_Pew? Cosmos? Posters? Oh crud, he took my Alien Blaster!_

"Why would I guy this old be playing with toys like this? It makes no sense!"

"Maybe it's real. You never know with those energy weapons."

"My Pa used to collect energy weapons, so trust me, I know this ain't real. Besides, there isn't a clip from what I can tell. Watch, I'll shoot it at you." Right when the second guard pulled the trigger, the first was vaporized.

"Holy ****! Ryan!" he cried out as he mourned over the loss of his friend. He got down on his knees and began to cry while searching through the ash pile. The Lone Wanderer thought this was the perfect chance to strike the guard, and he put that thought into action. He jumped up on his feet, screamed at the guard and nailed him right in the temple, rendering him unconscious. He took the blaster and cursed at the guard for wasting its precious ammo.

_Charon ran off? There's no way he'd leave me here. It's not possible… _

The Wanderer had considered the options. He was responsible for Charon almost being incinerated and killed earlier. But would he just forget their friendship like that? The Wanderer wasn't sure of anything anymore. He sat down on the ground, confused. That's when a familiar face came up to him and shot him in the neck.

"Sunny!" the Courier yelled as he saw her at Goodsprings. He ran up to her and asked her about the king.

"He agreed. I guess you were right about him owing you a favor and all. What about the Boomers? How'd that go?"

"Fine. They're willing to help us when we need it. So I guess we just need to talk to a few other groups and we can discuss the plan. I was thinking we should try the Crimson Cara-"

"HELP! HELP ME!" screamed Trudy running out of the Saloon.

"What's wrong!" the Courier asked.

"Those creepy robots invaded the Saloon, and are burning it to the ground!"

"You've got to help me, please!"

"Of course we will! Boone, we got company! Get ready!"

Boone loaded his rifle as the Courier pulled out his Caravan Shotgun when they saw 5 Securitrons heading in their direction. Their armor was thick, but Boone's gun was able to pierce through them at a distance while the Courier got close to two others to blow up their antennas. Sunny and Cheyenne began to attack the last two as Trudy hid by a nearby crate. ED-E was nowhere to be found which was odd. The Courier didn't have time to worry about that though, as one of the Securitrons knocked him backwards hard enough to send him flying. He landed by smashing the crate Trudy was hiding behind resulting in unconsciousness. With the Courier down, the fight only got worse. Boone was low on ammo, and Sunny was shot in the spine. Easy Pete saw all the commotion and decided to act by throwing sticks of dynamite their way, harming friend and for alike. Doc Mitchell and a few other residents watched the event take place as it happened. Some citizens decided to help fight the Securitrons but had no chance of taking them out. Things got bad fast, and the Courier woke up the next morning in a motel bed in Novac next to Boone.

"…Boone? What happened…"

"We lost Goodsprings. Trudy and Sunny are dead. The rest are here in the motel. We just weren't ready…"

"Sunny is dead? Oh my god… Benny will pay for this."

"For sure. Novac is with us now, so we should be able to heal up for a while."

"No. We need to get back out there, put the plan into action!" the Courier coughed up blood.

"Rest up. Manny and I will take care of it. We won't let Goodsprings be forgotten. They didn't die in vain."

The Courier began to shed tears. Goodsprings was destroyed, Sunny was dead, and ED-E was missing. What could've been worse? There was no way Benny would get away with this. Not with his life. For that was the payment in this world without law, and the Courier was sure that it was to be delivered. The Courier fell asleep with exhaustion, resting up for the battle of the Mojave. To Avenge Trudy & Sunny. To Avenge House. To Avenge Goodsprings. To avenge the old lives that they had lived, peacefully before the man in the checkered suit came to town.

END OF CHAPTER 4

***sniff* How horrible. Quite a sad chapter indeed, what with all the dying and leaving. Happy Fathers Day, by the way! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and would like to ask you to leave some thoughts and criticisms with a review. You don't even need an account to leave one, so please do! The last part of this Arc may take longer than expected, so please be more patient than ever! I thank you guys for reading, and am accepting original ideas for the next chapters to come. Just PM me, and I'll try to fit them into the story the best I can. I feel like I've talked a lot in this note, so I'll just stop here. **

**Later!**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 5: Alliances and Betrayal III**


	5. Alliances and Betrayal III

"You will work in the mines, getting resources for me. Your things and your former life no longer matter. You belong to me. Guards, take his things to the storage room."

"You won't get away with this you know. I'll break out, and I WILL kill you."

"You should've run off like your friend did. At least he had some common sense. You on the other hand, just have some fancy toys. Which are mine now, by the way."

"He didn't run off…"

"I have eyewitnesses confirming it, alongside seven dead guards."

_Seven? Jeez…_

"Jerry, drag him to mines since he doesn't feel like walking."

So the Lone Wanderer was dragged away by Sal's forces to work in the old Detroit salt mines, Confused, sad, and hungry all at once.

Two weeks after the incident at what was formally known as Goodsprings, Boone and many others went out of their way to recruit people for the cause. The Kings had told the Followers of the Apocalypse and they gladly wanted to pitch in, Boone went to the Crimson Caravan like the Courier had originally spoke of for supplies and ammo, and the former citizens of Goodsprings gathered up random traders and the city of Primm. ED-E was still no where to be found in all of this. The day the Courier was supposed to recover in Novac, Boone had gathered everyone together for a meeting. The total amount was huge, but not even close to House's former army of Securitrons.

"Everyone listen up. My name is Boone. You are all here for the same cause. To stop Benny. You all have your reasons, but we're all in this together. The citizens of Novac, Goodsprings, Freeside, Primm, and the Followers of the Apocalypse, the Boomers, and the Crimson Caravan are all involved in this along with some travelers. We have got everything we need; food, water, ammo, armor, doctors, bases, and troops. He would be proud." He of course referred to the Courier, who heard the whole speech as Doc Mitchell finished patching him up. "There are groups out there that have decided to stay neutral like the Gun Runners, but they have their reasons. The real threat is the strip and the allying tribes like the Powder Gangers, hired Mercs, and the Great Khans."

_The Khans? Since when? Looks like Boone hasn't told me everything. How would they trust Benny after their last arrangement? Maybe they didn't have a choice…_

"All fixed. Better get out there before they get sick of Boone's speech."

"Thanks Doc, I owe you one."

"Well you actually owe me a new town and 75 caps. But I guess we can settle that after this fight." Doc Mitchell gave a lighthearted laugh, which was strange given the circumstances. The Courier felt that it was time for him to get out there, and decided to open the door to his room in Novac. He was greeted with dozens of cheers, but mostly silence out of respect.

"People of the Mojave, the time has come to take on our greatest threat. I know Boone has filled you all in on the details, but I need to speak with the leaders of each group in the army. Meet me in my room ASAP." Doc Mitchell was already in the Courier's room and decided to wait, as representatives from each group joined him at a big meeting table.

The Leaders or representatives of each group followed the Courier into his motel room where Doc Mitchell was already situated.

"Are we all here? Yes? Ok great, let's get started..." The Courier began to explain his brilliant plan to those around him.

"The towns will mainly be used as outposts and places to get supplies along the way to the Strip, if we need it. The road will be filled with mercenaries and Securitrons, so we need to play it smart because we're outnumbered. Novac is already somewhat close to Vegas, so the trip won't be that long. That being said of course, all of our forces aren't in Novac right now."

"Why not?" asked Julia Farkas

"It would be a stupid move for us to have everyone attack at once all together. We need to time our attacks at different times and sections of gate around Vegas."

"When our 'soldiers' get into Vegas, what happens next? I don't think Benny would be crazy enough to stay in the Lucky 38 after that."

"He's run off before, so I have a few ideas of where he's going. If we can't figure it out on our own we can use the security footage in the tower."

"Ok, so how people will we have together in a group?"

"Having squads of 4 or 5 is ideal for us, but we may not be able to-"

The Courier was interrupted by loud screaming outside, where in the distance you could see the TV faces of robot grunts coming in their direction.

"Shit…we have to put the plan into action now! Everyone, I didn't get to explain the whole thing, but I put some notes on the table where the whole plan is explain."

"But first, it's time to dance," laughed the leader of the Boomers, Pearl. This was going one hell of a dance.

It had been three days since the Lone Wanderer got locked in the old salt mines, trapped to do Sal's bidding. He was coughing, sick of the air. Also, because of the rotting dead workers lying around him and some others, sick of the smell.

_Charon…why? What did I do that made you take the contract and leave? I thought we were friends…_

The Wanderer had memories of their adventures together. From defeating the Enclave, stealing power armor, killing super mutants, and just surviving, they had some good times. Now, he was gone. The Wanderer was depressed for sure, not sure why to even bother. He had fought it all, and yet, he felt weak and unknowing of what was to come. He was sitting on the hard rock floor of his workplace when his thoughts were interrupted by a loud yelling and a sting on his right shoulder.

"Get back to work, slave! No rest for you, not until death. Don't worry though, we'll make death slow and excruciating." It was one of Sal's lackeys, cackling as he held a whip in his hand. The Lone Wanderer's shoulder was bleeding, and his skin was cut with a gash the size of his thumb in width. The Wander stood up, and grabbed his pickaxe. Just before the guard began to walk away, he spit on the Wanderer, laughing almost madly. He was laughing a minute later though. It's difficult to laugh with a pick through your jaw.

"A 10mm pistol. Great. Better than nothing I guess." As the Wanderer complained, the workers that weren't dead around him were staring in shock. No one ever rebelled before.

"D-Do you realize what've you've j-just done?"

"Uh…killed a man who thought he had the balls to spit on me? Look if you're scared that they'll take out their anger out on you, you're absolutely right. Why not escape with me? You're dead anyways, right?"

The Lone Wanderer had stirred something inside these men that they hadn't felt in a long time. Hope.

People yelled and raised their picks as others ran off after more guards to kill. He sure had a way with words. The Wanderer was running through the mine, seeing fires and blood everywhere. Somehow, the guards were the ones getting whipped this time. The Wanderer found the elevator out and joined a group of slaves going to the surface as well. Once they got to the top however, it was raining bullets from the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. The Lone Wanderer was already injured all over, so he tried to run as fast as he could, but fell on his face in the blood soaked dirt. Everything got woozy, and he felt that his back was penetrated with bullets. His time was near.

_I'm sorry Dad…I'm sorry Charon…I'm sorry…_

The Lone Wanderer journey was about to come to an end…or so he thought. That's what he thought until he saw a friendly ghoulish face jab Med-X into his arm.

"You're not done yet man. Let's get out of here!"

The Wanderer was limping at an extremely slow pace, so Charon decided to lift him over his shoulder and run.

"Where have you been? How do you know where to go?"

"I ran off, thinking you would've made it out before me. I figured out that you weren't and headed back. By the way, I have no clue where I'm going!"

"How many days has it been?"

"Can I answer these later? It's hard to focus while I'm being shot at with a bag of meat over my shoulder!"

"Sorry!"

Charon ran into an ally to take cover and began to give the Wanderer more chems. It sure did the trick alright. The insane amount of Buffout, Stimpaks, and Med-X given to him made him as good as new, like he never left the vault. He was still bleeding, of course. Nothing bandages couldn't solve, though.

"Fuck! I see the head honcho up ahead! Looks like he supped up that car of his a lot! It's got bulletproof plating and rockets! It's a tank! Hold on, he's saying something."

The intercoms set up around town were beginning to blare with loud dribble about conquest and the old days. Sal was set up near City Hall in his car, which apparently, had a microphone in it.

"Shame the bastard won't get to cruise around in his new toy for long…"

"What do you mean? You're too weak to fight!"

"I can still try damn it! Got any Mentats?"

"You've had too many chems as it is, master. He's finally called off his guards too. We can just sneak out while he's talking!"

"Ok and then what will happen Charon? People will still be slaves, and this ass wipe will be prancing around thinking he's a king!"

"…alright fine. Just don't miss. Here's a Mentats. Make it count."

The Lone Wanderer popped the pill into his mouth and pulled out the pistol he got from the dead guard who spit on him. Then he aimed straight at Sal's head through the windshield and pulled the trigger. What happened after was utter chaos. Sal's head burst open and exploded all over the dashboard and his guards began to run towards the Wanderer and Charon's direction. They were outnumbered 7:1, and it looked like they might meet their end. The rebels who noticed that Sal's speech was stopped with a bang ran towards the car, and all of the guards near it. Another chaotic battle broke out and it was hard to keep track of who was dying. In the end however, the prisoners prevailed, taking control of the city. As a thank-you for ending their old slave lives, the rebels gave the car to the Lone Wanderer and Charon.

"You should be able to get to Vegas safely now. That thing can run over Deathclaws if you build up enough speed. Good luck on your journey," quietly said the prisoner in charge, "because of you, we're free! We can rebuild the city, and create new lives for all of us!"

"Glad to help. I need to be getting on my way now, so I guess this is good-bye."

"Good-bye, Savior of the Wastes. We look forward to seeing you again."

The Lone Wanderer let out a light laugh, "Maybe. We still have a long ways to go. Come on, Charon. Let's get out of here."

"Sure, master. Sure." As Charon was walking behind the Wanderer, he remembered something.

"Oh, wait a second! I forgot, you're not my master anymore! I have the contract!" cried Charon excitingly as he waved the paper in the air.

"That's great. You still are going to tag along, right?"

"Why not, I'm a free man now! I can do anything I want! Anything I've ever-"

BOOM! All around the prisoners and the Lone Wanderer there was silence as a Sniper Rifle bullet penetrated Charon's armor crippling his arm.

"Ah! Who the hell did that? We have to go! Now! Get in the-"

BANG! Another shot was fired, and this time it went into his thigh. People began to run and others started to look around to see who was shooting him just as a third shot came. The third shot however, wasn't as lucky as the others. It blew Charon's head right off in front of everyone.

"NO! Charon! Who's there? Who the hell is firing?" The Wanderer looked up and saw the smoke coming off of the muzzle of the rifle. "Up there, everyone! Fire!"

A number of people had picked up guns off of dead guards and shot up towards the mysterious shooter, who stood up to reveal himself as Jerry Dawkins, the only soldier left on the field.

"This was supposed to be my empire now! Not yours! You can't stop Jerry Daw-"

Charon's fate was repeated on Jerry's head and the whole crowd was silent again. The Lone Wanderer sat there and cried for his friend, who never got to experience freedom. He got up off the ground a few minutes later and told the citizens of Detroit to bury him in the ground and remember him, not the Wanderer. The leader began to nod his head as the Lone Wanderer took Charon's gear, leaving the contract. He would be free in death.

The Wanderer got in the car after that, and drove off silently. He was Lone, once again.

END OF CHAPTER 5

**I know, I know. Why did this take so long? My computer was broken and needed to be fixed, I was extremely busy, and I just had a hard time writing this one. Nonetheless, I enjoyed writing this chapter and the whole Alliances and Betrayals Arc. Please share this on Facebook, Twitter, or just by word of mouth if you have some friends who enjoy Fallout! Also, leave a review! I really love the support and criticism people leave in their reviews already! I would really, REALLY like some ideas for what the Lone Wanderer should do next. To send those ideas, just send me a PM! I'll wrap this Author's Note up with a little hint of what's to come; God Bless America. **

**See you next time,**

** -FrankTheTank**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 6: The Long Road Ahead**


	6. The Long Road Ahead

**I would like to inform all my readers that I will be switching back and forth between the Courier and the Lone Wanderer's stories with their own chapters. This means that one chapter won't contain both stories at once to avoid confusion and rough transitions. If you don't like this setup, please let me know I will change it back. That's all I wanted to say, so enjoy chapter 6 with everyone's favorite Vault Dweller, the Lone Wanderer!**

While the Wanderer was driving away in a Pre-War car restored for destruction hundreds of miles away, a friendly super mutant came across the campsite where Charon set off the Mini-Nuke. He looked around and noticed all the destruction, empty slugs, and drained Stimpaks on the ground. Fawkes knew that the Lone Wanderer was out here, not realizing what was further west than Detroit.

While driving, a technique the Lone Wanderer had learned in Vault 101's simulators, he thought back to what he had accomplished in D.C. He had always tried to be the good guy because of what he knew what was right. Destroying Raven Rock and risking his life to start up the purifier are just a few of the good deeds the Lone Wanderer had done for the citizens of the Capitol Wasteland. There were many things he wasn't proud of, either. He stole everything valuable that wasn't nailed down, and did whatever he could to become the most powerful person back home. He had a psychotic urge to kill every once in a while besides his lust for power. If there was a trader out there in the wasteland, the Wanderer would look around to see if anyone was nearby. If there wasn't anyone, he would kill the trader and steal his goods. He was ashamed of such deeds but passed it off as survival like everything else. Given the choice between 500 caps and detonating Megaton or 100 caps and saving the town, he saved the town. Not only did he get a reputation for it, but he also got a free house and a place to trade and buy more gear.

He was guilty of stealing powerful weapons and armor though, but tried to make sure there were no witnesses. Like when he slaughtered the entire Republic of Dave to get the key to T-51b Power Armor, and left the children to suffer. All in the name of survival. While thinking about what was up ahead and what he had done in the past, the Wanderer noticed something in front of him he hadn't seen in working condition ever. A car radio. The Lone Wanderer connected the radio to his Pip-Boy and tuned in to Galaxy News Radio. After fixing the satellite dish on top of the Washington Monument, the signal could be heard all over the Wasteland.

"…in recent news, Mr. 101 has left the D.C. area for a little vacation west to New  
Vegas. Now ain't that something? Here's a tip, 101. Don't gamble away a single cap or else you'll be begging for water on the streets. Ha-ha!"

The Wanderer would've chuckled at Three Dog's comment like he always did, but he was in too much of a bad mood to even smile. He knew that this car wouldn't have nearly enough gas to get him across the country, granted the roads would let him. There were a few options the Lone Wanderer could go with on this decision; He could leave the car behind after it runs out of gas and continue on foot (which wasn't very efficient) or he could find some way to refuel it. He had heard about machines that ran on solar energy, but never had an experience using and repairing things like that. The most time consuming and harder way to find fuel was to literally find gasoline cans along the roads. But considering the fact that there has been over 200 years of people scavenging before him, the odds were very slim that any gas survived. Sal must've known this too, so what would've Sal done when this happened to him? He considered the thought and got so distracted from driving that he hit a Deathclaw with the car.

Once he hit the Deathclaw, the Wanderer turned off the radio and got out of the car quickly. To put it bluntly, the Deathclaw was pissed. It was lucky of our hero to jump out of the car right before the Deathclaw flipped it over, causing an explosion.

"Just great…" the Lone Wanderer had fought many Deathclaw before, in his own territory with all his gear. Here however, he was limited to what was on his back and what was in the smashed trunk behind him. Running for the trunk would be suicide and what he had on him wasn't strong enough to bring it down. So the Lone Wanderer kept repeating the same movements over and over; dodging the Deathclaw's charge and shooting the torso as it turned around. The Deathclaw wasn't smart enough to figure out the strategy so he could keep doing it until it died, which would take awhile. Unfortunately for the Wanderer, there was a piece of metal railing sticking out of the ground that he tripped on.

"Damn it!" cried the Lone Wanderer. He tried firing into the Deathclaw's eyes but it was no use. It was about to slash his chest open in one clean cut. The Lone Wanderer closed his eyes and heard a loud echoing gunshot almost exactly after his eyes shut.

_What was that, the Mysterious Stranger? He followed me all the way out here? _

"Hey kid, you're not dead. You can open your eyes," said a woman in a smooth voice.

After hearing this he did and got up off the ground to see his rescuer. She wasn't a raider, or at least didn't look like it, with some leather armor, a hunting rifle on her back, and a small switchblade on her hip. Looking at her face, he saw that she had red hair and a scar on her right cheek, with green eyes.

"Thanks for the help."

"No problem, always willing to help out strangers against those stupid Deathclaws."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

"May, now tell me why you're out here."

"I'm heading to the Mojave on a brotherhood mission."

"Brotherhood of Steel, huh? Not many people around here like you guys, so you should keep that info to yourself."

"No offense, but I don't see anything around here but a bunch of holes."

She laughed at him, "that's where we live."

"Underground? I can relate…"

"Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing important. Why don't you guys live above ground? Is there a vault down there?

"No, but there is one THERE."

"Um, what's 'there'?"

"Do you see that city far off on the horizon? That's there."

To the Wanderer's left he did see the city she was talking about. Then he wondered what it was called. "Does there have a name?"

"I don't remember what there's name is. You can ask the elders, though. They probably remember. All I know is some bad people are living there."

"Let me guess, raiders?"

"Nope, they wear Power Armor. Raiders are nothing compared to these guys."

_…Power Armor? Could it be the Brotherhood? She did say they aren't too popular around here…_

"Can you take me to your elders, then?"

"Sure. Don't worry about your stuff, I'll send someone to get it out of that car. Follow me."

So the Lone Wanderer began to follow May down a hole near them, which was equipped with a ladder. Once they reached the bottom, he saw more pathways in front of him, lit up by electrical lanterns. They kept walking down the tunnels on the left until they reached one big room filled with people talking at a conference table. Once May & the Wanderer walked into the room, everyone stopped talking and looked at them.

"May, who is this outsider?" asked the man at the front of the table.

"He was attacked by a Deathclaw outside, near the southwestern tunnel entrance. He wants to know more about our situation."

"…I see. Outsider, please enter the back room and I will explain everything." the old man pointed to a hole covered by a curtain behind him.

"Alright," calmly said the Wanderer. He walked into the room and waited about ten minutes for the old man to arrive. Finally, he did. This gave the Wanderer a chance to look at the elder in front of him. He wore a long robe, similar to the one that the scribes wore in the Citadel. He was bald, had an extremely long beard, and was wrinkled and skinny.

"Ok outsider, I'll get right to the point. Why are you here? If you're thinking about robbing us I'll have you killed before you can say Nuka-Cola. May has told me you're a member of the Brotherhood and I don't trust you."

"Whoa, relax! Yes, I am a member of the Brotherhood of Steel and I came all the way from D.C. I was heading west when I was attacked by a Deathclaw and she helped me. I mean NO HARM."

"Then why did you want to see us?"

"May told me that you were having problems on the surface with that city up there. Oh, by the way, what city is that?"

"It's Chicago, a very large city from before the war. It has been occupied by some group in power armor for years. They always had a base in Chicago, but began to expand and slaughtered my people. The only groups I know that wear power armor are the Brotherhood. But the armor they wear is definitely not the regular Steel attire…"

The Lone Wanderer shivered as he thought about what the head elder said. He knew who it was, and it wasn't the Brotherhood.

"It's the Enclave."

"The who?" questioned the elder.

"The Enclave. They claim to be the remnants of the American government and they came from the west a long time ago. The Brotherhood has fought against them for years. D.C. was attacked by the Enclave a few years ago, and…I lost my father because of it."

"I'm not sure if I believe you, but I can tell that you're sad. If you wish to help us, you'll have to hand over all your gear and take our standard scout gear from the supply tunnel right of this one."

"Why can't I use my own gear?"

"I don't want to get tricked and have my people die from your foreign weapons. Until I know I can trust you, you will have to leave it all here. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes. Where do I start?"

"I'm sending a scouting party out to find some food later today, so you can go with them."

"Sounds good. I'll be there."

"Remember though, any tricks and you're dead."

The Wanderer chuckled, "Yeah, I got it the first time." So he gave the head elder all of his gear, and began to explore the cave on his own while heading to the supply tunnel. He found bedrooms, shops, and bathrooms all over the place with poor lighting and no radios.

_These people must be so bored…_

While he wandered about he was grabbed on the shoulder by someone and turned around to see 5 guys behind him with gear.

"You're coming with us, right? Well, here's your gear. Get suited up and meet us by the entrance over there."

"Alright, I'll be there in a second." The Lone Wanderer got dressed in his new set of gear which seemed pretty basic. All he had was a 10mm pistol, leather armor in bad condition, and a Stimpak. "Do you have anything else I can use?"

"No. Now hurry up!"

The Wanderer rushed over to where the rest of the group was waiting and they all began to climb up the ladder out of the caves. Once they were outside, the captain ordered the group to head towards the city. Once they reached the first building, they began to look around for food and supplies while one guy kept guard on the second floor. The group had searched every spec of the house and sat back for a moment to recap what they found.

The captain began to speak as they all sat down, minus the lookout, "Alright, what did you 3 find Jackie?"

"I found some Salisbury Steak, Cram, and Snack Cakes in the basement and these two found some scrap metal."

"Excellent, excellent. What did you find outsider?"

"I didn't find much. The only thing I found was a fission battery, if that's of any use."

"It might be in the future, when we build elevator shafts for the base. Good work everyone. Now, let's investigate that brick building across the ro-" before the captain could finish his orders, the lookout from upstairs ran down into the living area where everyone else was situated panting like a dog. "What's going on Henry?"

"Those freaks in power armor…I saw them…a few blocks away heading in our direction…" explained Henry in exhaustion.

"Oh no…Ok, listen up everyone! These guys have better armor, weapons, and training than us. We stand no chance against them if we try to fight them head on. So, we either have to hide in the basement and pray to God they don't find us or think of a way to take them on. Outsider, you have more experience at dealing with these guys than all of us combined. Please lead us through this!"

The Lone Wanderer had a choice, and thought that the last thing these people needed was an all out war with the Enclave resulted in them getting slaughtered. He thought the first idea was best, since the Enclave think anything lying around in the wasteland was "impure" and don't scavenge much.

"We'll hide in the basement. There's an extremely low chance they'll look in the house for any reason. If they do however, we might get our asses kicked. Be prepared for that just incase it happens. So the whole team rushed down into the basement and pointed their weapons at the door. They heard no noises upstairs except for a few faint voices on the road, and then eventually nothing. Most of the team began packing up their weapons before they heard loud noises upstairs.

_Damn Enclave…why are they in here?_

The noises turned out to be footsteps inside the house. It sounded like two Enclave soldiers were taking a break. Even from the basement, you could hear their conversation.

"I'm getting REAL sick of these stupid patrols. I mean, what could we possibly find out here? I think we should just take a Vertibird and leave this place."

"Why? The others will hunt us down!"

"Oh please, we didn't even have enough forces to back up Colonel Autumn in D.C.! Do you really think they'll waste their time tracking two runaways?"

"I don't know…what if they use the Tesla Cannons on us?"

"And destroy one of the Vertibirds? I doubt it."

"I'll think about it. Hey, let's see if there's any shit we can destroy downstairs."

_No! Why are they so stupid?_

The Lone Wanderer whispered to the others, "get ready guys."

Everyone was prepared to shoot the officers as soon as they opened the door, but they didn't. Before they could, someone killed them. There was screaming and the shooting of energy weapons everywhere for a few minutes, and then it ended in silence. No one knew who killed the officers, but they didn't want to know. They just wanted to get the hell out of there. The lookout, Henry, asked the Lone Wanderer if it was safe to leave.

"No. You guys stay here, and I'll go check out what happened. It could be a Paladin, and in that case, I'll need to be the one to talk to him." Everyone agreed and let the Wanderer open the door to go upstairs. He looked on the floor of the living room to find the bodies of the two Enclave officers gone. Whoever it was took the bodies somewhere leaving no trace of them ever being there. It started to worry the Lone Wanderer, and he told everyone it was clear.

"Good work outsider. I'll let the elder know of your good deeds. With any luck, he'll get that vehicle of yours working again. Did you find the culprit?"

"No, I didn't. Whoever it was took their bodies. My guess is another patrol who listened in on their conversation and shot them before they could leave. But that doesn't explain the bodies. The gear I understand, but the bodies…"

"We'll worry about it later. We should probably get out of here before more show up. Let's go, squad!"

So the Lone Wanderer was on another adventure, once again. Now trapped near the city of Chicago, filled with the Enclave, he had to save these people from another massacre. The mysterious killer's identity is still unknown, and whether he is friendly is also unknown. With Fawkes on the way and the chance that the Brotherhood would be somewhere nearby, the Lone Wanderer might be safer than earlier. What happens next however is anything but safe.

END OF CHAPTER 6

**The next chapter will continue the tale of the Courier's army against Benny and his newfound Securitrons. I really can't decide which character I like writing about more! Please share this story with your friends and leave a review! If you have any ideas about what the characters should do next, PM me or just leave it in your review! I have the whole Chicago Arc covered already, so leave a suggestion about what other cities he should visit! EDIT 7-27-11: I had originally planned for Fawkes to be the one to kill the two soldiers, but like someone said in their review, not enough time would have passed for him to get that far. I agree that I should slow down and make the story better with that time, so thanks for the review!**

**-FrankTheTank**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 7: Destroying the Heart**


	7. Destroying the Heart

** I am very sorry for the wait. I was so busy that I had completely forgotten that I was writing this! Hopefully it won't ever happen again. Hopefully. Anyways, enjoy the chapter. **

A few days had past since the Courier's army fought against the Securitrons in Novac. The battle kept up for hours, and was a bloody one. The Securitrons eventually retreated after wiping out a huge number of what "soldiers" were at the town during the invasion. Nobody the Courier knew personally was hurt, but he was hit by a grenade. Good thing the attack ended when it did, or else he'd be back in the Goodsprings cemetery.

After the attack on Novac, the plan was put into action. The plan's details were very complex and would take a lot of time to explain, so here's the simple version:

Step 1: Conquer enough ground to attack Vegas without destroying it, creating a distraction.

Step 2: Sneak a small squad into the city to kill, or capture, Benny.

Step 3: Delete Yes Man from the mainframe or reprogram him to do ONLY what the Courier and a select few wanted.

Step 4: Finish what Mr. House started and rid the Mojave of the gangs that have re-inhabited it.

Whether the plan would work though, depended on the people the Courier had recruited for the job. Over half of his companions he had lost contact with since House had kicked out the NCR. Raul had been living in his shack without any disturbances, Boone and ED-E had been living with the Courier, Rex became the King's pet again, Lily continued raising the livestock in Jacobstown, Cass had headed west without any goals, Gannon left the Mojave after the battle of Hoover Dam, and Veronica…

Veronica left the Courier without saying good-bye when the Brotherhood bunker was destroyed. The Courier hasn't seen her since. Did he regret destroying the bunker? Sometimes, yes. He got fame and fortune, but at the cost of lives that did no harm to him or House. The Courier didn't believe in Karma. He did feel guilt for any horrible things he had done in the past though. The Courier had his army constantly attacking the areas around Vegas, or any area that had a high population of the enemy. Freeside got the worst of the bloodshed and attention, with it being closet to Vegas.

The Courier was trying to tune in to a radio station on his Pip-Boy in his tent near Primm. None of the stations were active since this whole fiasco began. He was pressing buttons hard out of frustration when Sheriff Meyers came into the tent.

"Hey, some guy left you a holotape. He said it had a lead on where Benny was getting his Securitrons," he said as he threw a dirty holotape on the coffee table next to the Courier, "I suggest you listen quickly, because we have an unassigned squad here incase you want it."

When the Sheriff left the tent, the Courier inserted the holotape into his Pip-Boy. "I know where he's getting them. He's getting them from the Strip and the Fort, where else?" He hit play on his Pip-Boy. Then, a robotic voice began to speak.

"Hello, Courier. My name isn't something I like to give out, and neither is my location. All I can say is that I'm a friend. I have a lead on the Chairmen's source of Securitrons. I know you must be thinking to yourself, I know where he got these, but you don't. They have much more than the amount of robots House had made before the war. They are being produced in a factory. I know where the factory is, and want to tell you that this isn't the only one. There are two more in the Mojave that I haven't found yet. Here are the co-ordinates, and good-bye."

Also added to the Pip-Boy's notes, were the directions to the factory the stranger mentioned. It could've been a trap, but the Courier was ready for anything. Almost anything.

The Next Morning

The Courier had went to Jacobstown, and headed south past Vault 22 and west of the Sunset Sarsaparilla plant. He requested that the squad from last night be brought along for this mission, because he couldn't do it alone. "Alright, listen up. I received a lead last night about the whereabouts of a RobCo. Factory. One that produces Securitrons. This could explain why we've struggled to take control of some of the northeastern areas, and will possibly be filled with hundreds of the robot grunts. We need to be stealthy, and deactivate the assembly line. Sheriff Meyers said you weren't the most experienced or most stealthy of Primm's squads, but your all I have, and you'll do."

All of the young men in the squad listened carefully, this being one of their first assignments. They knew if they slipped up on this, it would mean the end of all that the good people of this desert had worked for. They couldn't take the risk of having their leader getting compromised, either.

"I know this will extremely hard, so I recruited the help of an old friend…or as she would say, family member."

One the soldiers spoke up, "Where is she, sir?" This poor fellow was hoping she would be super attractive and single, but instead he got his hopes crushed.

"She's been in front of us the whole time," explained the Courier lifting his hand repeatedly signally that his friend appears.

Then, all of a sudden a giant purple figure stood in front of the pervy recruit. "HELLO PUMPKIN, GRANDMA'S HAPPY TO SEE YOU," spoke Lily appearing in front of the guy who spoke up earlier.

He practically squealed like a 5 year old girl and ran away for a good 10 minutes. The Courier lowered his head and began to rub his face. "Why did I think having you there was a good idea, Lily?" the Courier sighed. As for the other guys near Lily, they were chuckling because of the one man's reaction.

"Alright, alright. Everyone settle down. Meet Lily, my nightkin "grandmother" from Jacobstown. I took some risks getting there because of what's been happening, so don't complain about having to work with her. I doubt any of you have even met a super mutant in your entire lives."

The Courier had a point, and the others shut up and got ready for action. "I want all of you to wear these," then the Courier threw some weird machines at the men, "they're called Stealth Boys. You might've heard of them. We can use these to communicate and see others that are cloaked. They don't keep you cloaked forever, so we need to get in and out as fast as possible. Got that?"

"Yes sir," they all replied.

"Good. Let's move out."

On the other side of the hill where the factory was located, Boone stood ready with a bunch of retired NCR troops and gunslingers. Manny had been asked to come along with Boone by Boone, himself, which was odd considering how they hadn't spoken to one another in years. Even while stationing and commanding squads in Novac, they never even looked each other in the eyes. The squad, leaded by Boone, had one purpose. Their purpose was to cover the Courier and Lily by breaking every TV screen saw come out of that building after them. Boone thought that the Courier wouldn't get spotted, but he wasn't so sure about Primm's rookie team. Manny was confused about why Boone asked him to be here, so he finally spoke to him.

"Boone. You hate me. That's no secret. So why am I here?"

Boone was continuing to look down his scope while Manny talked to him, and after a long silence he responded. "How I feel towards you had nothing to do with this mission OR my decision. I brought you along because you were in 1st Recon like me. You're an expert in sharpshooting and this mission is too important to screw up. Now stay focused." That was all that was said for the next hour, while the Courier was inside.

Back inside the factory, the Courier had come across a long tunnel that divided into two. He had Lily and two soldiers going to the left while the Courier went to the right. The young men following the Courier had kept quiet, and deactivated any terminals they came across. Every now and then, the team would come across a person guarding a door or a machine, but they were no match for the Courier's arsenal of silenced weapons. The split tunnel with all its many doorways finally ended, connecting the two paths together again. Lily was about to crush the Courier to death when she saw him again, but she realized the mission wasn't done. The entire time, the assembly machine had been producing the robots and building them. The squad shut down most of the machines and security, but one threat remained. The main terminal at the end of the now connected tunnel within the room ahead. It held blueprints to the Securitrons armor and AI, and had the locations to the other factories. Once this was shut down, they could blow up the factory and move on to the next one and repeat the process. The team slowly opened the door to the main terminal and secured the room. While one of the soldiers was downloading the files onto a few empty holotapes and memory sticks, the Securitrons downstairs became active and noticed the lack of security. Everyone quickly looked at the guy on the terminal, who whispered, "Oops, wrong button," as he shrugged. The Securitrons began to head upstairs to the offices and looked around for anything wrong. The Courier was signaling for the hacker to hurry up but he couldn't go any faster. One of the Securitrons found a dead guard and looked faster, shooting anything that moved.

"Done!" the hacker mouthed. After he shut down the terminal, a robot came into the room, looked around, and alerted five more that something was wrong. They noticed someone shut down the assembly line. While the awakened Securitrons searched for anyone in the room, the team snuck around all of the robots. Just as the last man left the room though, the Stealth Boys began to wear off. A few seconds later, the Courier and his team were exposed, except for Lily. The Securitrons noticed and the Courier made a run for it. While running, the hallway began to fill with bullets and lasers whizzing by. The whole team made it out while smashing and blasting everything in sight, but one of the smaller fellows got stuck. Not only was his life in danger, but so were the files he was in charge of carrying. So Lily went back to get him, only to find out his leg was caught under a broken Securitron that was shot in the firefight. Lily tried lifting it, but it was to heavy for her. There was only one solution. She had to cut off his leg. This was going to ruin his life forever, but he would at least have a life to live. So while the Courier and the others stood in the doorway, covering her, she did it. He screamed so loudly it almost became louder than the gunfight around them. After freeing him, she lifted him onto her shoulder and ran out along with the rest of the squad. They took cover behind a boulder while Boone's squad did their job, shooting everything that came out after the Courier.

An hour later, the building was clear. Everyone ran to the team behind the boulder and one of the gunslingers Boone recruited began to bandage the man's leg better than Lily already had while behind the cover. The whole group contacted the Boomer's a little while later to blow up the factory, leaving nothing left. The mission was successful, and everyone headed home.

The Next Day

At about noon, the next morning, the Courier heard that the kid who got his leg amputated by Lily was in recovery. The scientists and doctors from the Followers hadn't finished downloading all the files yet, so they couldn't prepare for the next attack on the factory. Just like the other day, Sheriff Meyers came in with another holotape. The Courier popped this one in and listened to the same robotic voice patiently.

"I've heard the factory was destroyed. Good work. I've always known about your deeds throughout this place, and I now know that you can be trusted. I've sent you some more co-ordinates to where I'm living. I want to meet you face-to-face. Come alone."

That was the entire message. The Courier didn't know if this man could be trusted or not, but he did inform the Courier about the factory, so he had the benefit of the doubt. The Courier decided that the next morning he would go visit this stranger, and find out who's been helping him. After all, he didn't have any other leads. So the Courier began walking the roads again, to confront another stranger he didn't trust. He just hoped that this time, he wouldn't be shot in the head.

…**Hi there. Sorry for the wait. Busy, blah, blah, blah. Anyways, leave a review if you any thoughts about this chapter. Also, feel free to yell at me for the long wait in there too. I don't care. I'm launching a new schedule from here on out. **

**Courier chapters: Up every Sunday**

**Lone Wanderer Chapters: Up Every Thursday**

**Let's hope I keep my promise on the schedule, right? *Laugh*, we'll see.**

** - (An extremely tired)FrankTheTank**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 8: Seeing the Sights**


	8. Seeing the Sights

In a few days the Lone Wanderer had already climbed the ranks within the caverns outside Chicago, like he did with many groups in the past. After recovering many special items and going on successful missions, the cave dwellers began to notice how heroic and trustworthy the Lone Wanderer was. He became good friends with everyone in the community, including May, a kid named Robin, and a scout named Jamie. Everyone loved him and even helped rebuild his car, which the Lone Wanderer decided to keep with them until he helped them with their situation. Because of this, the elders had summoned him to their chambers over the intercom.

The Lone Wanderer was talking to Robin about his many adventures while waiting for his next assignment. Robin was listening closely as he was describing what happened to Project Purity.

"Did you really risk your own life like that?" asked Robin.

"Yeah. I did it for everyone in wasteland, including my dad," the Lone Wanderer frowned. Thinking about his dad always put him in a depressed state.

"What happened to him?"

"…He died protecting the Purifier from the Enclave."

"Oh…I'm sorry." After hearing this little Robin became sad as well, which the Lone Wanderer noticed.

"There's no reason for you to be sad too. My dad did what he did so people like you could be happy, and live long healthy lives. What's that noise?" This is when the Lone Wanderer noticed the elders calling him from the halls to his left.

**"Attention. Outsider, please report to the Elder Council immediately."**

"Well, I guess it's time for me to go. I'll see you around, Robin." He placed his hand on Robin's head and shook his hair up, then left.

One of the Lone Wanderer's most unusual traits is the fact he's claustrophobic. This has always been considered strange by his friends, because he grew up in a Vault. Even so, the Lone Wanderer didn't like caves. Walking around in the tunnels beneath the "Windy City" wasn't easy for him, but he adjusted. His eyes had the hardest time adjusting, because of the extremely dim lighting in the caves. Over time though, he didn't even notice the difference.

Upon arriving in the council room, he noticed that only the head elder was with him. The Lone Wanderer took a seat across the extremely long table and waited for instructions.

"…They know." When the elder said this, our hero didn't understand. But after a few minutes he figured it out.

The Enclave knows the Lone Wanderer is here in the city.

"H-How on Earth do they know?!" The Lone Wanderer said as he was worried about what might happen to the people around him.

"That, I don't know. Some scouts reported that this morning some of their guards were talking about you. It seems that they think you killed off those two guards. I wouldn't be so worried though, those are only rumors. They don't have any actual proof you are nearby. I'm just informing you of this because some of them are looking for you. If they find you, they'll find us, and it'll all be over. We cannot let this happen."

The Lone Wanderer thought about what he had just been told, and decided that he had to find this killer, before he did anything else. After leaving the elder's chamber he gathered up some gear and climbed up to the surface. No one noticed that he left, which was good, since he wasn't supposed to leave without a partner. After walking down a broken up road, he reached the first few buildings on the outskirts of Chicago where the two troops were killed. He looked around cautiously and entered the building. The Lone Wanderer decided that there might some sort of clue that could've been left when they were killed, but he had no luck. He checked the basement and the second floor, but there was nothing useful to him. That was when he heard the scream.

It was an ear-piercing nail-biting shriek that makes a part of you die inside when you hear it. It sure as hell wasn't the Enclave, but it sounded like it was nearby. The Lone Wanderer jumped out of the second story window and ran across the street towards an alley, where the scream came from. Once he reached the alley, the Lone Wanderer turned to see May trapped with a few Enclave soldiers with Tesla Armor. They quickly turned around and began to fire their plasma rifles at him as he ran to a nearby wall for cover.

The armor he had with him was far too weak for him to mess up. He had one chance to take these three out. His plan was to land a good few headshots and get lucky enough to not get shot. The Lone Wanderer took a deep breath and turned around the corner of the wall his back was facing and began to shoot with the 10mm in his hands.

One shot.

One man down.

Another shot.

Another man down.

A third shot.

The last man stands.

After missing the third shot, the Lone Wanderer tried to head back for the cover when he felt a blast scorch his arm. It was painful, but he kept moving. It could've been worse. He continued running but heard the gunshots stop behind him. He stopped running, and looked back to find that May had knocked the last guy out with a nearby tire iron. She ran towards him and smiled.

"What are you doing here?" questioned the Lone Wanderer surprised by her presence.

"I followed you. I saw you sneak out of the tunnels to investigate, and I wanted to help!" she laughed with a grin.

"No. I'm doing this by myself. You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

"You shouldn't be either."

"…" the Lone Wanderer had disobeyed orders and if May got upset and told the elder…

"Fine. You can help me."

"Yay!" She jumped with joy when she heard this, and then got real serious. "Um, with what exactly?"

He smacked his hand against his face in disbelief, "are you kidding me?"

"Not really."

The Lone Wanderer sighed, "I'm trying to track the killer of those two guards down. He's making all the Enclave patrols suspicious of someone's presence. More specifically, mine. If they find those bodies we just took out though, it'll only get worse. We have to get rid of them."

May thought for a second and came up with an idea, "why don't we disguise ourselves as those Tesla guards over there? I mean, the Enclave could have more information than we do on this guy, and maybe we could get some ideas on how to get rid of them. That IS your reason of staying here, right?"

"Of course it is! I've got places to be! If the Enclave wasn't involved, I wouldn't be here right now! Why else would I be staying?" he yelled.

"Oh, I don't know…" she whispered. She had a few reasons, but she kept them to herself.

The Lone Wanderer considered May's idea. Disguised as guards, they could probably sneak into where the Enclave base was and they could find some information on both the mysterious killer, and how to destroy them. He walked over to the bodies and inspected the armor. The two suits that he shot through the helmets were perfectly fine, in fact, the helmets showed no signs of wear at all. The other one that was whacked in by the tire iron however, was not as good as the others. It could work, but the scout gear the Wanderer had with him wouldn't do if they were to get caught. He would need his things.

"May, this plan of yours, it's going to work. But I need my gear. This junk we have with us isn't going to help us if we're compromised," he explained, "you need to get me my stuff if we're going to do this."

She sighed. "Alright, what do you need?"

An hour later, May came back with the Lone Wanderer's requested gear. He had already suited up and after laying down the supplies May did the same. They both decided to wear the armor over their clothes to leave no traces of their being in the area. All the bodies had been moved into a nearby dumpster, where the smell was so bad no one would dare to look.

"You ready?" May asked, tightening her helmet.

"Let's go," he said, "We have got to get to the bottom of this." As he said this he began to walk off to the loudest area of the city, where you could hear hundreds of MF cells being fired off in the distance. While traveling, they encountered some raiders and mutants, proving to be a minor threat with the weapons May and the Wanderer were packing.

After walking for two hours, our heroes found themselves near a glowing fort in the middle of the night. The two walked up the gate which read:

ENCLAVE CHICAGO OUTPOST

SOUTHERN ENTRANCE

TRESSPASSERS WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT

GOD BLESS THE ENCLAVE

While reading the sign a guard near the main gate caught their attention.

"You two like the new sign? My squad made it ourselves, using some of that old metal from the collapsed buildings east of here. Not bad, right?"

"Yeah, it's badass…"

"Anyways, you guys find that Vault dweller yet?"

"Not yet," the Lone Wanderer laughed, "I have a feeling we'll find him any day now though."

"For sure, hey, you guys look like you had a rough trip back. Any problems?"

"Yeah…we uh…" the Wanderer was trying to come up with an excuse but was taking too long, so May decided to step in with a very deep imitation of a male voice.

"We encountered a camp full of super mutants. A couple of them hit us a bit harder than we thought, but it's all good now." She was smooth. A whole lot smoother than Mr. 101 over there.

"Heh, figures…" said the Enclave guard while he began thinking silently.

The Lone Wanderer found this odd; since he was sure they encountered camps before. "Anything wrong?"

He quickly snapped out of his daze and looked at the Wanderer. "Actually, yes. While you two were out on patrol, we found a super mutant wandering about. He was looking for someone,"

The Lone Wanderer found this odd, and continued to listen.

"This guy wasn't any ordinary super mutant either. He was actually TALKING to some people nearby. I thought it was just the Jet I was taking that was making me see this, but then I saw the tattered Vault suit on his back,"

The Lone Wanderer was thinking horrible things right now, about a close friend of his back in DC. There was no way he could be here though…

"It was a Vault number from where a GECK was stored. Number 87 I believe. We know this guy came from the Capital, so we knew right away who it was. He helped that Vault boy destroy Raven Rock and ruin Project Purity's plans for the Enclave and the FEV virus. Our documents only show one name,"

'_Oh god, it is him. Why did he have to come here? I told him to stay in the Citadel…damnit Faw-' _

"Fawkes. He calls himself Fawkes. This guy alone is enough proof for us to suspect this 'Lone Wanderer' is in the area. We have him captured for interrogation. If he doesn't cooperate…"

"You kill him?" May chimed in.

"Well, yes. Not me though. That honor is reserved for the General. Anyways, sorry to bore you guys with this, but I thought you should know. See you around." He said as he opened the gate to the Enclave base.

The Lone Wanderer said thanks, along with May, and they entered. After he shut the gate, the guard began to think that there were three guards that left this morning…

'_I've got a personal agenda now. I have to break Fawkes out of his prison. Again,'_ the Wanderer thought, _'How will I do that? This place is huge, there's parks, armories, camps, and more guards than the total amount of hair Gob loses everyday.'_

While walking through the busy streets of the base, May wondered about Fawkes. She didn't want to draw any suspicion though, so she waited until there wasn't another soul in sight to stop and poke the Lone Wanderer on the shoulder, "do you seriously know that super mutant?" she whispered.

"His name is Fawkes. I met him in Vault 87 while retrieving the GECK. Without him, I would probably be dead of Rad. poisoning."

"A super mutant, though? There's no way he could've helped you!"

"He thinks, speaks, and feels like you and I. Human. His body may have transformed, but his mind is still there. He's a loyal friend and our first objective is to rescue him. After that, we get as much info on destroying the base as possible. We already know why they suspect my presence."

"Why don't we get the info, and then break out Fawkes on our way out?"

The Lone Wanderer stopped walking and looked her in the eyes with his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me. Fawkes was experimented on his whole life. The Vaults were bad. Crazy science experiments. I was in a Vault that was normal that was meant to stay closed forever to see the development of society without the outside world. I was lucky. Fawkes is a survivor of horrible mutations and he doesn't deserved to be tortured some more. Besides, if he breaks, then they'll search for me officially and find the colony. If he doesn't break…" His grip on her loosened. Although she couldn't see it, May knew he was crying.

She slowly moved his hands off of her and said to him in a sweat voice, "I understand. We'll get him out. I had no idea. Who would do such a thing, I don't know. But they were sick and you're right. Fawkes should be our top priority." After she said this the Lone Wanderer was cheered up from the bad thoughts of what would happen to Fawkes if they didn't break him. Somehow May's voice had a soothing tone, a power, to make everything seem alright. He stopped crying and looked up at her.

"Alright. If we're breaking him out, we'll need to find some way in. Some guns. BIG guns." He said seriously. He was tired of people he loved dying, and he sure as hell wasn't going to lose his war buddy Fawkes. May and the Lone Wanderer had began to walk to the General Jones Armory. Where they hoped they could take out the most powerful force in the known wasteland, and make it out alive.

**Well. Turns out I procrastinate much more than I thought. I'll post whenever it's done. No schedule. I can't follow a weekly schedule. I'll try to get one out every week, but it's harder than I thought. I hope you enjoyed, and please don't forget to leave a review telling me how it was, and where the series should go. Thanks for reading! I'll see you all soon (maybe)!**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 9: The Voice of Reason**


	9. The Voice of Reason

The Courier wasn't a fan of anonymous sources. In the end they were all either traps or ways to force him to help someone he didn't want to help. So yeah, they're both traps. This guy knew about the factory though, and claims he knows the locations of the rest. Without the knowledge of the factory, the fight against Benny would never end. It still won't unless the Courier finds the other two as well.

The Courier had come alone as promised, to a place that looked completely lifeless out near Searchlight. How anyone could live that far away from anyone else and so close to a radioactive location like that the Courier will never understand. Upon arriving the co-ordinates sent in the message, our hero was puzzled. There was absolutely nothing out here. To the south was Searchlight with its dark green sky and depressing atmosphere, the remains of Nipton to the far west, and a few ranger stations on the horizon. While scanning his surroundings, the Courier felt the ground rising from below his feet. Then he looked down and realized he was standing on a hatch. He jumped off quickly, and after the hatch slowly opened, a man poked his head out like a mole rat. The man was a tad bit short, and chubby with a scruffy beard. He just simply signaled for the Courier to follow him into the iron room below.

_A mute? That could explain the robot…_

This guy didn't look like much of a threat, so the Courier decided to follow him into the tunnel. As he was climbing down the tunnel, he realized that if this was a trap he just walked right into it. Knowing this, he still continued down the tunnel with this man. After about five minutes, they reached a small one room apartment of sorts. It featured a basic bed, toilet stall, and a few kitchen appliances. The oddest feature though, was the desk near the bed in the corner of the dimly lit room. On this desk there was a bunch of radios, strange machines, a terminal, a huge stack of papers, and a Fedora.

The man sat down at the desk and began typing into the terminal, which was connected to the strange machines nearby. The Courier decided to sit down on the side of the bed because there were no other seats besides the toilet. After a minute of typing, the strange machines finally began emitting a low hum and the robotic voice heard in the message.

"Hello, Courier. Do you recognize me? Chances are you do not. This Protectron voice module is all I have at the moment, due to some unfortunate events in the past few weeks. If I still had my voice, you'd know who I am."

Unfortunately, the Courier could be dumber than a sack of severed limbs sometimes. He had no clue who this man was, or that he even knew him. The Courier didn't really care to be honest. He was always a "straight-to-the-point" type of guy.

"Just tell me where the factories are. I would really like to stay and chit-chat with whoever you are, but I have to take back my city," the Courier said in a serious tone.

The man typed some more on the terminal and the Protectron voice spoke again out of the machines, "your city? Just what exactly makes you think that? I'm not disagreeing with you, but that's a bold claim."

"I was House's apprentice. I was his legacy. The city belongs to me now, and it has been unrightfully taken by Benny. I'm taking back what's mine."

"House had been alive for over 200 years. You were his servant, his helper. Before you, it was Benny who had done that. He wanted the city, that's why the Platinum Chip was stolen in the first place."

The Courier was going to retort, but he realized that no one knew about the chip and House's plans. No one.

"How exactly do you know this? That was confidential!"

"I'm always informed. That's my job after all."

The Courier was frustrated with all the mysteries surrounding him, "Who are you?! That information was given to nobody. NOBODY! I don't know how you know all this but its pissing me off that you won't tell me how!"

The man was getting worried about the Courier's tone, and typed quickly, "I told you, House sent me that info. The factories, were just some info that leaked out of the Lucky 38 due to my bugs."

"I tried bugging the Lucky 38 before, and it is impossible. With all this information you claim to be getting, it's like you're some kind of news reporte-" The Courier stopped. This man before him. The strange machines, the Fedora, and the missing voice. It all started to make sense.

This was Mr. New Vegas.

"Oh my god…I know who you are now."

"That's right. Mister New Vegas, here to brighten your day."

"What happened to your voice? The radio station?"

"I will tell you from the beginning…"

He began to type furiously and so quickly that the Courier was getting dizzy just looking at desk.

"Ever since I was little, I found a love in music. It was amazing to listen to; in the wasteland, in a city, or even while fighting mutants. It was an art that mankind had mostly forgotten about. As I got older, I began to scavenge parts and random bits of machinery together to try and create my own radio station in my hometown, Seattle. Once I was 19 years old, I fought my way through the ruins of the city to the Space Needle. The Space Needle is a tower of sorts, similar to the Lucky 38. I finished connecting everything together and began to run 'Needle Tip Radio' from my home on top of the tower. Things went smoothly for years. People said I had one of the most beautiful and relaxing voices ever. One day, however, a large group of raiders-with hundreds of members-came into town from the east and destroyed everything below me. I told the people of the city to hide and evacuate, but it was too late. The one time my talents could've saved was wasted. It was horrifying to watch, because everyone I knew including my parents was slaughtered that day. After they finished killing everyone on the ground, a couple of them decided to climb to the top of the tower and kill me too. I fought my hardest, but I never had much real combat experience. Realizing what I was doing on top of the tower, they decided to play the sickest joke I've ever seen. What they did next was terrible and discomforting to hear, so I won't tell you specifically what they did. In the end, I couldn't talk anymore, and I'll leave it at that. They left me to die after that, and I almost did. But I didn't give up. I pulled through the pain and suffering and decided to leave Seattle behind. I wanted to head south, always being a fan of cowboys and things like that. The journey there was treacherous, and being a mute didn't help me get to the Mojave, but I did. When I reached the strip, the giant group of raiders that destroyed my former life had made their home there. On my journey there, I became battle hardened, and filled with anger as I saw them. So I rushed into the city and began to kill them all. There were literally hundreds, and I was alone. I was pinned down near the Tops after wiping the entire group in there, when suddenly robots began to fill the streets, helping me kill them all. This is when Mr. House had woken up after his long slumber. The robots did not attack me, just the raiders. So we all began to rid the streets of them, and we did a damn good job. Later on, I found the group of guys that had caused me to lose my voice, and I went to town. They didn't deserve a quick death. I mutilated them for several hours. Looking back on it, I don't regret it. I do remember it in horrifying detail though. After all the casinos and other buildings were cleaned, Mr. House came to me and shook my hand while controlling a Securitron. We became close friends, without conversation. Robert had realized that I was mute, and had special RobCo. Surgical robots perform a surgery that changed my life. They gave me a new voice. A much more gruff voice than my old one, but I was happy either way. I told him of Seattle and how I lost my voice and dream, and he restored it. This place you are sitting in right now is my radio station. It's linked directly to the Lucky 38 mainframe protected by House. That is how I know what I know. When House was killed, Benny and Yes Man didn't notice the bugs House let me secure in the Lucky 38."

The Courier was just simply staring at him in disbelief. He fought with House to clear out Vegas? Judging all this man had been through, the real leader of Vegas should be him. "What happened to your voice, then?"

"The module House planted within my throat has broken. I have no clue how or why, but it has malfunctioned. I shut down the radio station and became silent after that. I heard the fight you had with Benny in the Lucky 38, and began researching on how I could help. Here are the other factory locations." After saying this, Mister New Vegas reached for a holotape to his right and gave it to the Courier.

"…Thank you. We'll destroy these factories. You can count on it. Not only that, but I'll find my friend Arcade. He'll be able to fix your voice again. I have to get going now, but I will never forget this." The Courier stuck the holotape in his back pocket and waved goodbye and climbed up the ladder.

"Farewell, Courier. I'm rooting for you." Boomed the Securitron voice once more just as the Courier shut the up on the surface. Mister New Vegas sat there for a while, thinking about his voice being fixed. Then his bugs began to pick up a signal from the Lucky 38. Mister New Vegas couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was more dastardly that anything he had ever heard before. Benny was plotting something big, and the Courier was already on his way back to Novac. No matter what the Courier did next, it wouldn't be able to prepare him for what Benny what planning next. Nothing.

**Hey there! Two chapters in one week! Strange huh? Well, I've had a lot of time on my hands. This chapter may not have been the most exciting, but it will make a lot more sense later on. I hope you enjoyed, please leave a review on how much I do/don't suck! I really wanted to rush this one out there so I could continue the Lone Wanderer's story, because right now that one seems more fun to be writing! Anyways, see you guys later. Thanks for reading!**

** -FrankTheTank**

**COMING SOON:**

**Chapter 10: Saving Private Fawkes**


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